Fear and Comfort
by AnastaziaDanielle
Summary: A snowstorm brings the Duke cousins together. A short one-shot


Disclaimer: I don't own The Dues of Hazzard.

Fear and Comfort

Seven-year-old Daisy Duke trembled beneath the covers of the wedding ring quilt her aunt had made for her and listened to the wind rattle the old white farm house. It howled around the eaves as bare tree branches scraped against the frosty window panes. The snow had started late that afternoon and had turned into a full-blown blizzard just before midnight, waking the middle Duke cousin from her slumber.

Loneliness clawed at little Daisy's heart. It was at times like this when she missed her mommy and daddy the most. They had died in the same accident that had claimed the lives of her cousins' parents as well.

And now her aunt was gone, too. Uncle Jesse's wife had slowly grown sicker and sicker for the past year until she died a few months ago. Uncle Jesse was now a widower raising three young children between the ages of five and nine.

Another gust of wind rattled the glass window panes and Daisy could stand it no longer. She sprung out of bed keeping her teddy bear tucked close to her and darted across the hall to her cousin's room. Maybe Bo or Luke would be awake, too.

Her bare feet tapped against cold floorboards as she turned the doorknob to the boy's room and pushed the door open. It creaked loudly making Daisy wince. She didn't want to wake Uncle Jesse. He hadn't been sleeping well lately.

Tiptoeing into the boy's room, Daisy pushed her brown hair behind her ears and looked back and forth between her cousin's twin beds. She shivered from the cold and tried to decide which of her cousins to wake. Bo's blonde head popped up, saving her from making the decision.

"Hey, Daisy. What are you doing up?" he whispered as well as a five-year-old could as he pushed his hair back from his face.

"The Storm woke me up," she explained as she clambered into bed next to him. They both glanced over at the other bed in the room to see if their cousin was still sleeping. They grinned at each other when the lump under the covers didn't move.

"We can build a snowman tomorrow," Bo whispered as he pulled the covers up to his chin.

The wind roared outside and there was a loud clatter as something blew across the barnyard. Bo and Daisy both jumped before burying their heads under the covers.

"What was that?" Daisy whimpered.

"Maybe the house is gonna blow down," Bo moaned as he clenched his eyes shut and held the covers tighter over his head.

"What's wrong with you two?" their cousin Luke grumbled from the bed across the room.

"We heard a noise," Bo explained, his eyes barely peaking above the covers.

"It's just the storm blowing something around," Luke yawned.

"What if the roof blows off, Luke?" Daisy asked fearfully.

Luke pushed to a sitting position with a grunt. "It's not gonna blow the roof off. If you two are really that scared, come on." He lifted up the blanket and grinned as his two younger cousins scurried across the cold floor and dove under the covers with him.

Bo clambered over Luke until the oldest cousin was sandwiched between the two younger ones. "Wanna help us build a snowman tomorrow, Luke?" Somehow Luke made everything okay; Bo wasn't scared anymore.

"Sure, Cousin," Luke nodded, "but how about we get some sleep now."

Daisy and Bo both cuddled next to Luke under the covers. "Maybe Uncle Jesse will help us," Daisy yawned. "It might make him smile again."

"Maybe," Luke admitted as he settled between his cousins.

The storm continued to rage outside, but the youngest Duke cousins were able to sleep now that they were safe with Luke.

Luke yawned and looked down at the slumbering Bo and Daisy. He loved his little cousins; family was more important than anything like Uncle Jesse always said. As the snow swirled around the little white farmhouse, Luke vowed to always protect his cousins, no matter what they may face in life. He pulled the covers up to his chin and let the sound of the blizzard lull him to sleep.

The End

Author's Note: I thought I'd try something short and fluffy for my first Dukes fic. Please take the time to review. Thanks so much!


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